America's Cuppers Get Their Feet Wet
The America's Cup World Series came to the United States, with a series of races in San Diego from Nov. 12 to 20. I flew down wearing a couple of hats — one as editor and publisher of the Island Yacht Club newsletter The Mainsheet; the other as a member of the Alameda America's Cup Citizens Advisory Committee created by the city council.
My press pass got me into two press conferences and, for both my days there, onto one of the high-speed media boats going around San Diego Bay for photographers. Tuesday afternoon was team practice, which meant our driver could get as close to the 45-foot catamarans as he dared. Wednesday was the first race day; where we could go was more tightly defined but still close enough for some great photos and video.
From these two days I can report that the World Series races coming to our Bay in 2012, and then the America's Cup itself in 2013, will be very exciting to watch. The course in San Diego brought the boats to within 100 feet of the public pier; in San Francisco the course is also being laid out long and thin, and very close to the public areas of the waterfront. A huge Jumbotron screen showed the live video taken from dozens of cameras located on helicopters, shore locations, special boats, and the catamarans themselves. (The race umpires, who are former Navy SEALS on fast personal watercraft, even have cameras mounted to their helmets.) There are also microphones on the boats; you hear the sailors live.
I was very impressed with the race announcers whose voices came over the PA systems and out on the live video stream to YouTube. The announcers assume no knowledge of sailing, let alone regatta terms like "match racing" or "fleet racing." Everything going on was explained in detail, and the digital graphics track the movements of the boats in relation to the course and to each other.
We in Alameda will have ideal access to the America's Cup races, as our ferry system to San Francisco does not have to make wide detours around the course (as will ferries to Marin). BART and buses are convenient for us as well, but getting to the regatta races by ferry will let you feel more like part of the action — you'll be flying over the waves just like the athletes.
Our citizens' committee is working to try and bring some of this excitement (and a bit of the regional $1.4 billion in economic impact) here to our island. We want to increase our visibility so that visitors coming for the races by car, RV or their own boat or yacht will choose to stay on our "sunny side of the bay." Alameda is certainly among the most family- friendly places around the entire Bay, and who else has a twomile swimming beach?
The America's Cup teams themselves will be coming here from around the world, and some of them will bring their families and stay for several months. This means you could run into an athlete, designer or boat builder from China, Sweden, New Zealand or other country at a local restaurant or pub. The seven yacht clubs in Alameda are all planning ways to make sure all our visiting sailors are welcomed, and we hope they'll go home saying "Let's get back there soon."
The next America's Cup World Series races take place in Italy next April. They come to San Francisco next August for two weeks, and then the really big events, with the much larger 72-foot catamarans, come in September 2013. It will be an exciting time with lots to see.
Dave Bloch is a member of the America's Cup Committee.
